LOST GODDESSES: The Denial of Female Power in Cambodian History

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LOST GODDESSES:

The Denial of Female Power in Cambodian History

(by Trudy Jacobsen who studied anthropology / sociology, reads and speaks Khmer):

Tenth-century and subsequent representations of women in the celestial realm mirror the shift toward female dependence in mythology. As we have seen, early Cambodian goddesses were perceived as autonomous wielders of power, independent from male deities. In PRE-CLASSICAL [TS: emphasis mine, 3rd to 9th centuries] versions of Cambodian origin mythology, the female protagonist participated in political activities at her own inclination and without the intercession of a male figure. In the CLASSICAL period [TS: emphasis mine, 9th to 15th centuries], the women of the legend were represented as passive appurtenances of their male counterpart. [...]

In the classical period, no reference was made to Soma as an independent sovereign before her marriage to Kaundinya. Clearly, something happened after the ninth century that affected Cambodian perceptions of women as expressed in the origin myth.

Indian Brahmans had settled in Southeast Asia courts, bolstering the claims of local sovereigns to the throne by conferring religious legitimacy. Indian Brahmanical society did not accept autonomy of women... The origin mytho of the Khmer elite in the tenth century reflected the patriarchal tenets of Brahmanical religion that served to legitimate (male) rulers of the classical period. [...]

As was the case with the passivity of Mera in the creation mythology espoused during the classical period, it is likely that the later geneologies reflect the influence of a more patriarchal social perspective. Yet, it is incorrect to assume that the absence of women from positions of power and autonomy in the inscriptions and sculpture of the period meant a corresponding loss of significance for elite women.